How to retarget abandoned checkout users from your online platform?

You’ve crafted the perfect product, your marketing is on point, and you have good traffic on your website weekly.

Yet, something frustrating keeps happening, your users select your product to purchase, start the checkout process, and then… vanish.

Does this scenario sound familiar?

Well, you’re not alone.

In my years of helping online tech entrepreneurs, cart abandonment was one of the most challenging tasks I had to solve.

But here’s the good news.

With the right retargeting strategy, these lost sales can be transformed into valuable conversions.

What are abandoned checkout users?

Abandoned cart users are potential customers who have shown strong purchase intent by adding items to their shopping cart but have left your website before completing the transaction.

Think of them as window shoppers who picked up items and walked to the cashier, but suddenly changed their mind and left the store.

The key difference?

Unlike physical stores, in the digital world, you can actually reach out to these customers and bring them back.

In this blog post, we’ll discuss how you can revive lost users through their saved data or digital footprint.

Why is checkout abandonment such a big problem?

On average, 69.82% of shopping carts are abandoned.

Let that sink in: for every 100 potential customers who add items to their cart, roughly 70 walk away without purchasing.

Here’s why this is particularly painful:

High acquisition cost waste: You’ve already spent money getting these users to your site and convincing them to add items to their cart. When they leave your website without purchasing anything, your cost to acquire that customer goes to waste.
Lost revenue: These aren’t just casual browsers – they’re users who showed clear purchase intent. When they leave your website without purchasing anything, you’re technically losing the money you could’ve earned from them.
Missed customer relationships: Each abandoned cart represents not just a lost sale, but potentially a lost long-term customer.

Why do customers leave the website without purchasing?

Here’s the big question though – why do customers even leave the website without purchasing anything when they clearly had a warm purchase intent?

Let’s unfold this mystery, alongside this, you will also learn how you can optimize your platform and website further to reduce the checkout drop-off rates.

Here are some of the most common reasons customers abandon their carts:

Unexpected costs
- The classic “shipping shock” happens, when customers see high shipping costs at the final step
- Hidden taxes and additional fees that appear only at checkout, make the user re-think about their purchase.
- I’ve seen conversion rates jump by 25% simply by displaying total costs (including shipping) on the product page itself.
Complex checkout process:
- Too many form fields to fill (the “why do you need my phone number?” syndrome) brings a lot of friction and makes the user instantly want to drop off.
- Mandatory account creation is again a hude friction when users just want to make a quick purchase.
Payment security concerns:
- Missing trust badges and security certificates brings a slight hesitation in the minds of users. If you haven’t added these to your website, now would be a good time to fix it!
- Limited payment options again limit the users and it may result in them dropping off. Consider adding more number of payment methods and gateways.
- Outdated website design that doesn’t inspire confidence, would not make your customer purchase what they came for.
Technical issues
- Slow loading checkout pages (users typically abandon if checkout takes more than 3 seconds to load).
- Payment failures with unclear error messages are quite troublesome as well.
- Mobile-unfriendly checkout process (this is huge – nearly 70% of cart abandonment happens on mobile).

How can fixing abandoned checkout help your business grow efficiently?

Addressing cart abandonment can be a game-changer for your business growth. Here’s what that means for your business:

Higher ROI on marketing spend:
- You’re re-engaging warm leads who’ve already shown interest.
- The cost to convert these users is typically 70% lower than acquiring new ones.
Improved customer insights:
- Understanding why carts are abandoned helps optimize your checkout process.
- You can identify and fix common friction points in your sales funnel.
Better customer relationships:
- Personalized retargeting shows customers you value their interest.
- Well-timed follow-ups can build brand loyalty and trust.
Increased revenue without additional traffic:
- Converting just 10% of abandoned carts can significantly boost monthly revenue.
- These are essentially sales you’ve already partially earned.

What are the ways to revive lost users?

Bringing back abandoned cart users isn’t about aggressive sales tactics, it’s about understanding user psychology and providing value. Here’s what actually works:

Smart email sequences:
Start with a gentle reminder, then progressively add value. Here’s a tried-and-tested sequence:
- First email (1 hour): “Did you face any issues checking out?”
- Second email (24 hours): “Your cart is waiting + similar courses you might like”.
- Third email (72 hours): “Special discount to complete your purchase”.
Personalized retargeting ads:
Show them what they’re missing, but be smart about it. I’ve found that displaying the exact products they abandoned, along with social proof (like “50 others bought this”), works better than generic ads.
SMS re-marketing for time-sensitive products or services:
A quick SMS can work wonders. Keep it brief and valuable, something like “Your cart has been saved! Use BACK10 for 10% off today.”
**Exit-intent popups:
**Catch them before they leave with a compelling offer. But here’s a tip – instead of just offering a discount, address their likely concerns: “Free ebook with your first order” or “30-day money-back guarantee.”
**Social proof notifications:
**Show real-time purchases and reviews of the products in their cart. Nothing builds confidence like seeing others make the same purchase decision.

Remember, the goal isn’t just to make a one-time sale – it’s to build trust and create a lasting relationship with your customers. Each recovered cart is a chance to turn a hesitant browser into a loyal customer.

How can automation help you bring back lost users?

Automation can become your secret weapon if you know how to use it correctly. It can save you from a manual headache and give you a smooth, efficient system.

Let’s see how you can use automation to enhance your workflows:

Email marketing automation:

Zapier has been a game-changer in this space. You simply need to connect your platform with your email marketing tool, create “triggers” for when someone abandons a cart and automatically send personalized follow-up emails based on their cart information.

You can read more about how Zapier lets you setup webhooks and dispatch notifications here.
WhatsApp integration:

WhatsApp has become a powerful channel for cart recovery, and Pably makes it seamless as it allows you to automatically send cart reminder messages, share personalized discount codes, and provide instant support if customers have questions.

The best part? You can sequence these messages just like emails.
Automating customer support with AI:

One often overlooked aspect is automating support queries. To take your platform game one step ahead, you can also set up chatbots to handle common checkout issues, create automated responses for frequent questions, and use AI to detect and flag high-priority abandonment cases.

Also, don’t forget to regularly analyze your automation workflows’ performance. What worked six months ago might need tweaking now. The beauty of tools like Zapier and Pably is that you can easily adjust your strategies based on what the data tells you.

Bonus tip

If you’re a technical creator selling digital products on your website, it becomes extremely important for you to track leaky funnels including checkout abandonment.

Fermion is an all-in-one platform that allows you to set up webhooks and ensure that your external systems are always up-to-date with the latest events from your platform courses and provide any external features to the students when they enroll.

Schedule a free demo with us to give a world-class learning experience to your students, and build technical cohorts & boot-camps. Sign up for free here: https://sales.fermion.app/demo-call.

Conclusion

Every abandoned cart represents a potential customer who is interested enough to start the purchase process. Instead of seeing these as lost sales, view them as leads waiting to be nurtured.

From my experience, the businesses that thrive aren’t necessarily those with the most traffic or the lowest prices; they’re the ones that excel at converting interested browsers into happy customers.

The key is to act now. Every day without a retargeting strategy is another day of potential revenue slipping through your fingers.

Your abandoned cart users have already shown interest in your products isn’t it worth making an effort to bring them back?